Trenchcoat Weather
by inhabitants
Summary: Nova Wright had barely anything. No parents; they were dead. No friends, no boyfriend. She didn't even have a good relationship with her brother, the only person she lived with. All she had was her military trenchcoat. Until she met Captain Jack Harkness.
1. i

**- Nova Wright - **

"Jeremy, I'm goin' out for a walk, okay?" I called to my older brother, pulling my military trenchcoat off its hook on the front door. It used to belong to my grandfather, but after he died, he passed it down to my father, when my father died, to Jeremy. He never wore it, so he allowed me to keep it. I pulled it on over my black tee shirt, leaving the buckle behind my back. The coat was so large that it reached the heel of my converse, stopping just before it hit the ground.

"This late at night?" He called back to me from his bedroom upstairs.

"Yeah, why not? It's only eight thirty!"

"Fine, fine, but bring your pocket knife with you, just in case!"

"It's in my pocket, like always," I mumbled, opening the front door and letting it slam behind me. I didn't really have anywhere in particular to walk to, simply just walking around Cardiff. It was a lovely city, especially at night, and most particularly when it was raining, as it was now. I popped up my collar around my neck and ears, practically sinking into it, and pulled my blonde hair under it as well.

There were a few police cars that sped by me, hitting top speeds. I decided, of course, being the curious person that I was, that I ought to follow them. And I did, as best as I could in the beginning. I was able to follow them down a few streets and turns, but after a point, they'd gotten to far away for me to see. Someone who seemed to know what I was after waved at me and pointed down a street. I ran that way, and soon saw the cars jumbled up together, stopped just in front of a black van that had parked sideways. A black haired woman peered over the front of the van and called to the police officers, "You're dismissed, Torchwood has taken over this case."

I raised my eyebrow to myself. Torchwood? I'd never heard of that before.

The police stayed put, not backing down but also not pressing forth. I had to know what was going on. I passed by the police, sticking in the shadows, and walked into the nearest door, not bothering to shut it beside me. It was an old, empty warehouse, with plenty of windows lining the sides. I crept along it, passing the van. The woman stood beside a man in a suit and another man with a coat extremely similar to mine. They surrounded something, I'm not sure what, but I continuously caught glimpses of different shades of red.

Then the man in the suit stepped aside and I caught a clear sight of what looked like s red blowfish with a human body. I stared, eyes wide, with my hand over my mouth as the thing lifted its head. I could've sworn it stared straight at me and I, frozen with fear, couldn't bring myself to move. The man in the suit looked at me as well, and that's when I took off, running out of the door on the other end of the building.

There, I was stopped short by the man in the trenchcoat.

"Nice jacket," he smirked, pushing me back into the building by my shoulders. Though I was shaking in fear, I forced myself to return the smirk, my hands in my coat pockets.

"I could say the same to you." I answered, stepping back. He stepped towards me and I shot a glance at the window where I'd seen the odd creature. When I looked back at the man, he was leaning against the wall of the warehouse.

"What is that?" I asked, forcing myself to keep my voice calm as I pointed at the window.

He sighed. "I could tell you that it's a man in a mask, but something tells me that you're not one to believe that."

"Correct."

"Well, in that case, it's an alien."

"Well that's about as odd as hearin' that my brother managed to get pregnant," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "But I suppose it's possible. Hell if it's not a mask, it might as well be another lifeform."

He raised both eyebrows at me in what seemed like astonishment. "Hm. Most people would freak out or not believe it when we say aliens exist. But you don't seem bothered. Why is that?"

I blinked a few times whilst drawing a blank. I didn't know what to say for a while, but then it came to me. "People who freak out over hearing..that, are really just scared. The proof of alien existence begins to cancel out religion for some people, and without religion, they lose faith in a God. And nobody who's religious wants that. I on the other hand, don't believe in a God, or an afterlife, or anything of the sorts, so the only thing that scares me about it is whether or not it's going to kill me if I touch it. Asides from that, I think it's outright marvelous that such a thing could exist." He watched me with wide eyes as if he was absorbing what I was saying and harvesting; like it was a life changing speech, and I almost laughed at the thought.

"Captain Jack Harkness, at your service." He bowed, and I looked at him.

"Captain?" I asked. "Captain of what?"

"Of Cardiff's own Torchwood."


	2. ii

**- Nova Wright -**

"Jack, you coming?" The woman with black hair called into the building. "We've got the blowfish detain-" She cut herself off as soon as she saw me, and clapped her hands over her mouth. "I'm so sorry, you were probably explaining to her that this is a guy in a-"

"It's okay, Gwen. I was just introducing myself to Miss..?" Jack looked at me, expecting my name.

"Jane," I lied.

"Jane?" He asked me. "You don't look like a Jane.."

"Wow, thank you. Straight to the heart, Captain Jack." I faked hurt, rolling my eyes.

"Jack.." The woman, Gwen, interrupted, looking at him. "We need to get going and you need to..do your thing."

I looked between the both of them, my hand tightening around my pocketknife inside my coat.

"Gwen, I'll catch up with you and Ianto at the hub, okay?" Jack asked, looking at her. She nodded to him, and left the building.

"Hub?" I asked immediately, spinning to look at him. "What hub? And who's she?"

Jack looked at me, then around the building. "Let's go on outside. It's nicer out there than in here. Plus, it seems like the perfect trenchcoat weather."

I followed this 'Captain Jack Harkness' out into the light rain, letting it fall over me without a care. He did the same as well, and I couldn't help but smile. This stranger seemed quite like me in lots of odd ways.

"Listen to me, Jane-"

"It's Nova. Nova Wright." I said after holding up my hand to stop him. "I didn't want her to know my name."

"Okay, well, Nova, listen to me. I'm Captain Jack Harkness. The woman you saw was Gwen Cooper, another woman that works at Torchwood. The man you saw with me was Ianto Jones, yet again another coworker. That creature was an alien that came through a rift that runs along here in Cardiff." He said, staring me down. "Torchwood is an organization that prevents extraterrestrials from creating destruction here in our own world. Creatures from different planets cross over through the rift. Do you get it?"

I nodded, popping my collar up again. "Yeah, it's not difficult to understand."

"And now, I need to erase your memory of everything you've just heard, okay?" Jack gave an attempt at a small smile.

"Why? So I don't tell anyone? Because it's not like I even have anyone to tell. I live at home, with my brother, and no money, no friends. Half the times I haven't even gotten a bedroom, because my brother's 'girlfriend of the week' is fighting with him and wants to get away. I don't talk to people, and I don't like to." I said, sighing as I watched him bite his lip.

"Nova, I-"

"You know what? Never mind. Go for it. Clear my memory or whatever. No big deal I guess. I believed in aliens before I talked to you, anyway." I shrugged, then added, "but, answer this, what was the point in telling me all of that, just to have it erased?"

Jack bit his lip and tapped his right foot all at once, like he was anxious and nervous. My hand went back into my pocket to wrap around my knife, just in case.

"Because sometimes, you just need to tell someone those kinds of things. And I didn't want to lie." He answered, his blue eyes staring into my own. I paused and looked down at the ground underneath us and said, "please don't take it away. It's a fascinating knowledge and the fact that I've just seen a real, live alien isn't something I want to forget. I don't have much of anythin' in general, other than memories and knowledge, and this is something I want to keep."

"Knowing this stuff will put you in danger-"

"Does it look like I really care about danger?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He let out a soft laugh, then shook his head. He was about to say something when a loud snarling/growling/screeching noise came from behind him.

Three creatures, about 5'6-6' tall were walking down the alleyway towards us, faces disgusting and mangled looking, wish teeth the size of sharks' and claws long. They came closer, craning their necks in every way possible as if to see us at different angles. Jack used his arm to push me behind him and used his other to draw a gun from his waistband. I pulled my pocketknife out of my pocket, flicking the blade up. "Aliens, I take it?" I asked him, my free hand wrapping tightly around the elbow of the arm that was holding me behind him. He nodded quickly, looking around for a way to get out.

"Warehouse door," I whispered, pointing ahead at the door that we'd come out of. The creatures were just feet away from the door, and we'd have to get closer to them to get inside.

Jack nodded, and it was his turn to grab my arm, pulling me towards the door. The creatures growled louder and louder until one lunged at us, specifically as Jack. I threw my knife, letting it lodge itself into the shoulder of the creature. It howled with pain and staggered back, and Jack ran into the warehouse, shutting the door behind him after pulling me inside. He grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me up and down, saying, "It didn't hit you, did it? You're alright?" I nodded quickly and returned the question.

"Always." He said with a nod.

"What were those?" I asked, my heartbeat loud in my ears.

"Weevils. They live in the sewers. And might I say, good shot on the knife. It's difficult to aim those so that they actually hurt your opponent." He said, grinning at me.

"I would've gone for the kill and all but those things..I couldn't just kill it." I shrugged.

"Well, you chose right. And hey, do you have any skill with guns?"

"I had to sell my father's after he died, but I'd already had quite a bit of training with them, yes, why?"

"How would you, Nova Wright, like a chance for a job at Torchwood?"


	3. iii

**- Nova Wright -**

"Me? Join Torchwood? Why would you want me in Torchwood? I have no talents that could contribute." I said in disbelief, raising an eyebrow at him.

He looked back at me, his grin unfaltering. "Your weapons knowledge. That's what you can contribute. You knew where to hit it to injure it, but not kill, and that's just what we need. If you even attempt to join, I won't have to erase your memory. Plus, you said it yourself. You find it fascinating. So why give up the opportunity to see others?"

"Okay, I'm in. But I get a week to decide whether or not I want to stay, okay?" I asked.

"Okay."

"Hello, Jan-"

"It's Nova." I said, while standing beside Jack in the entrance to Torchwood, hands in my coat pockets whilst talking to Gwen. "I didn't want to tell you my name right away. I'm sorry." She just nodded as if she understood, and then glanced at Jack.

"I see you've found your twin, eh Jack? Dresses like you, and acts like you." Gwen smiled at me, letting me know that it wasn't an insult.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jack smirked back at her, then looked at me. "This is Torchwood. We prevent extraterre-"

"Yes, I know. You already told me. You prevent them from causing destruction here." I cut him off and he just grinned.

Ianto peered over the railing of the stairs that led to the next floor, looking at me, calling, "Jack.. Who's she and is she joining Torchwood?" His voice seemed more worried than anything else.

"Yeah, Jack, is she joinin' us?" Gwen asked.

"Possibly," I answered for Jack. "I get a week to decide if I want to stay or go."

Ianto then practically disappeared back upstairs, out of sight, and Gwen smiled at me before turning back to her desk and computers.

"Tough crowd," I mumbled under my breath, and Jack laughed just as my phone started ringing. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at it.

Jeremy.

"Oh, hey Jeremy," I said once I answered.

"Nova. Where are you? It's almost ten at night!" He exclaimed, sounding out of breath. Then I heard a female voice behind him and I knew why he sounded like that.

"I'm out." I answered through gritted teeth.

"When will you be home?" He asked.

"I don't know. I'll let you go back to fucking the first girl you saw on the street today, bye." I said and hung up. When I looked up at him, I noticed Jack was looking at me with sympathetic eyes.

He asked, "Are you okay?"

I just nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"It's not a big deal. It happens all the time. I'm used to it. Now, what am I supposed to be doing?" I asked, averting the subject. Although he noticed, Jack let it slide.

"I'll bring you down to the weapons room. There's a bunch of targets set up there that you can practice on." He offered me his hand, but I didn't take it. He frowned, but then turned and started leading me down a few hallways.

"Where'd you get the coat?" Jack asked, trying to make small talk while we walked.

"Jeremy. My dad gave it to him, and my grandfather gave it to my dad. My grandfather fought in World War Two. Where'd you get yours?" I inquired.

"Long story." He answered, and I nodded, not wanting to pry any further.

After a while of walking, we were finally in a room with a table set up, covered in various types of weapons. Scattered around in tons of different places were targets with pictures of what looked like different kinds of aliens on them. Jack tossed me a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and grinned at me, putting his own pair on. I noticed there was a microphone on the bottom of each one, more than likely for two people to be able to communicate even while shooting.

I grinned back at him and putting my pair on, then looked at the table.

"Pick one and just try it out." Jack said through the microphone. I noticed the few knives laying in a row and picked one up, looking at the first target ahead of me. I bent my wrist and let the knife fly, hitting the target in what looked to be a forehead. The knife stuck there, lodged a couple inches into it. I looked at Jack with a smile and he simply stared at me, then motioned to a gun. I picked it up and turned my body towards the next target, using one hand to shoot at it. I hit it where a human's heart would be, and Jack just continued to stare at me, pointing at each gun one by one until there was nothing left for me to try. At one point I yawned and looked at my phone to see I had three missed calls, all from Jeremy.

"Hold on," I said to Jack and pulled the headphones off, dialing up Jeremy again.

"What do you want?" I snapped as the other end picked up.

"Hey, Nova, I know I'm probably the last person that you want to talk to right now, but I need to talk to you," the female from earlier answered.

"What?" I hissed angrily. This was probably about another fight. The girls tended to call me when Jeremy acted like an ass.

"Jeremy keeps saying it's hard to breath. Does he have asthma?" She said urgently, over the sound of coughing and scrambling. My heartbeat was in my ears again, loud and violent.

"Not that I know of. Call a bloody ambulance!" I exclaimed. That caught Jack's attention right away.

"Okay, okay. He keeps saying he's fine, but then he mumbles something that I can't understand."

"Just call an ambulance!" I practically screamed in frustration, then jammed my phone into my coat pocket and looked at Jack.

"I'll give you a ride, what's the address?" He asked.

"Jeremy?" I asked, once we were standing beside him in the hospital. There was no response.

"Dear, he's unconscious." The nurse said.

"No fucking shit," I hissed at her, then looked at my brother. It hardly looked like him, skin red and soaked in sweat, half his hair gone and his body in an odd position that no one could move him from.

One of the nurses was trying to hold Jack out of the room because he wasn't family and, after a little while of him trying to negotiate with her to get inside, he eventually shouted, "Torchwood, move aside." She let him pass and as soon as she did, he came over and sat in the empty chair beside me.

"Has there been any other cases like this?" He questioned the nurse.

She hesitated before answering, "yes, three, but.." and then she came closer and began to whisper something in his ear. I'd been staring off into the distance, but I was hearing everything and I cut her off loudly, "yes, three, but they all died, didn't they?"

"I'm afraid so, yes." She said solemnly.

"Piss off," I growled. "Weren't you ever told not to withhold critical information?"

"Nova-"

"Jack, don't even start with me. My brother's about to die and the last thing he'll remember from me was me yelling at him, I don't have time for this shit, do you understand me?"

"I wasn't going to tell you anything other than that I'm sorry," he said softly.

I shook my head. "No, you aren't. You didn't know him. You pity me. It's not sympathetic, and I do not want it."

Jack sighed, and then turned back to the nurse, who looked like she had tears in her eyes. "Do you know what's wrong with him?" He asked.

"No," she said, "the three cases that have come up were the first anyone's ever seen of this. We don't know how to treat it other than to leave them on respirators."

"How close together have these cases been?" He asked.

"All in the last two weeks."

"Okay, thank you. Please leave the room, I need to have a word with Nova alone. And shut the door behind you," he said to her. When she did so, he turned to me and quickly said, "an alien parasite has infected your brother. I'm not sure what kind, and I'm not sure how to get rid of it, but I know what's happened. It's in your brother's lungs right now."


	4. iv

**- Nova Wright -**

"An alien. In my brother's lungs. That's lovely," I muttered, staring at my brothers wilting body. "What's even lovelier is the fact that you don't know how to fix it. Just perfect."

"I don't know how to extract it without ripping open his lung." Jack said quietly. I spaced out for a minute, then widened my eyes and jumped up.

"Jack, is there a way to determine which lung it's in?" I asked. He nodded quickly and I grinned. "Okay, well you need to figure that out then. I on the other hand, am going to pull it out through his esophagus."

"Nova I-"

"It's the perfect plan!"

"Nov-"

"It can't fail, Jeremy will live!"

"Nova! I already thought of that, but the parasite's more than likely awfully too big to pull out, especially if it's killing him by filling his lung. We can't just pull it out."

**- Captain Jack Harkness -**

The grin that had been placed on Nova's face quickly fell and her eyes welled with tears when I told her. I was pretty sure she knew from the start that her plan wouldn't work, I could see it in the way her hands shook.

"Nova.." I said softly, standing as well. She wrapped her coat tighter around herself, as if she could hide herself away inside it. Earlier she'd said I pitied her, and I assumed she was right, although it was Jeremy I pitied, and not her. I did sympathize with her; I'd been through the same thing multiple times. I took a step closer, but she shook her head as to ward me off as she popped her collar up and sunk into it, away from me. I advanced further, even as far as putting my hand on her shoulder. As soon as I did, she came forward and wrapped her arms around my torso, her head against my chest as she burst into sobs. I, although startled, hugged her back as tightly as I could without hurting her and took a deep breath to stop my own tears. I'd known her for a day, and already, it hurt to see her upset.

"Shh," I whispered, trying my best to get her to stop. "It's all going to be okay. I promise." She shook her head and just stood there, sobbing and not moving another inch.

Nova had fallen asleep on my shoulder by the time I saw it. The creature. It was taking over his body; I could see a tentacle of some sort starting to protrude from the left side of Jeremy's body. It was growing into him. The nurses weren't to come in there, which I was grateful for, but I wasn't quite sure what to do. Instinct told me to kill it, but Nova's quiet breathing told me otherwise. She still had tears on her face, tears that had smeared her mascara down her cheeks and made her look exhausted and horrendously sad. I barely flicked my tongue over my thumb and worked to gently wipe away the ruined makeup without waking her. It was 1:36a.m. and she'd only just fallen asleep after crying her heart out. Both of her hands were wrapped around my other wrist, her head leaning against the place where my shoulder and torso met, since I was turned towards her.

I stopped after I realized I couldn't get much of the makeup off without waking her, and then looked up at Jeremy's body. It was only a matter of time until he was no longer Jeremy.

I used my free arm to pull my phone from my pocket and dialed up Gwen. I knew she'd be at him, asleep more than likely, but I needed her to answer. Either her or Ianto, and I knew she'd be quicker to get here. The way she looked at Nova was like Nova was just a child, that she shouldn't be out here. I knew better. She had to be older than twenty, and if she didn't come to Torchwood, then she'd go nowhere. Talking to her had shown me that she really didn't have many hopes for her future or what she might do come time for her to get a job.

As I was waiting for Gwen to pick up the phone, I started to think about what Nova had told me. Her parents were dead, she had no friends or a boyfriend, she had no job, and didn't have much talent that could help her find one. Jeremy had been the only thing keeping her alive. Without him, she had no food, no family, and no house. It's not like I could just let her go live out in the streets on her own, but I didn't know what to do with her-

"What do you want, Jack?" Gwen whispered, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, hi Gwen. Listen, can you come out to the hospital? I think we have the start of a new case." I whispered my answer as well, not wanting to wake Nova.

"What is it?" She whispered, but I could already hear her scrambling and rustling around to get out of bed.

"Four people have been infected with Parasites, in their lungs. All the infected have died, and in the last week. The most recent infected was.." I paused. "Nova's brother, Jeremy. But for some reason I have a feeling that this one is much different than the others."

"Nova's brother? Is she with you? Oh, that poor girl.."

"Yeah, she's with me. She's sleeping, so keep quiet when you come it. It seems like she hasn't slept a night in weeks. Plus, she only just stopped crying." I felt Nova's hands tighten slightly, then relax. "Just hurry Gwen, I can't figure out what to do."

"I got here as quickly as I could, and I asked one of the nurses how long the other cases had before dying. She said Jeremy's exceeded that amount of time. This is different than the cases, that's for sure, Jack." Gwen said as she stood over Jeremy, watching as a now second tentacle emerged from his skin, writhing around. Nova had practically wrapped herself around my arm, her right arm wrapped around my elbow, her left around my lower arm. She had shifted so that her legs were in the chair with her. Gwen had commented as soon as she walked in that it was adorable, and I found myself beginning to agree.

"Jack, it's taking over his body. We can't let it keep thriving off of his body. We need to kill it. Now, before it gets any bigger." She said. I looked at her, then at Jeremy's body, and then at Nova herself.

"Do it then. Quickly. Unplug the respirator. We'll extract the Parasite after he's dead and we've brought him back to Torchwood." I said, wiggling my arm out from underneath her grasp. She stirred for a while, and was on the verge of waking up. It wasn't until the loud, continuous blaring of the heart monitor sounded that she woke up. I gripped her shoulders, forcing her to face me so she didn't watch her brother die.

"What's going on?" She asked urgently, struggling to turn around to see. I cupped my hands on her cheeks and contained her head to stare at me.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered to her, leaning my forehead against her own. Her eyes welled up and she ripped herself away from me, looking at her brother. The Parasite thrashed as hard as it could, ripping apart Jeremy's torso.

Nova bit down on the back of her hand, then turned and ran out the door, not stopping for anything. A nurse ran inside, put I stopped her, pushing her back by her shoulders. "Torchwood business," I said, watching as Gwen detached the body from all machines and IVs, and picked it up over her shoulder. I looked at her and said, "I'll meet you back at the hub, go ahead and take the car. The keys are in the front seat. I need to find Nova!"

I took off down the hallway, running as fast as I could. She'd probably taken an elevator, and we were on the forth floor, so I went ahead and ran down the stairs, taking them three, even four at a time.

"Nova!" I shouted into the lobby once I'd reached it, turning around in circles to look for her.

I saw the tail of her trenchcoat disappear out the front entrance, and I was after her as quickly as possible.

"Nova! Nova please!" I shouted, chasing her down the sidewalk. "Nova, stop!"

I couldn't catch up with her until she'd tripped over the curb and fallen on her knees in the crosswalk. I grabbed her by her arms and pulled her back to the sidewalk, kneeling down in front of her.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She just stared at me and burst right into tears.

"He was all I had! He was all that was left, I have nothing, I have no one, and I can't do anything about it!I'm going to lose the house, I'm going to lose all the utilities, and the food. I'm going to starve on the streets, and now I don't even have my brother! I promised my dad that I'd keep him safe.. Oh, God Jack, he's dead," she sobbed, staring up at me. Her eyes were a vibrant, glowing blue, now rimmed red from how much she'd cried.

"I'll keep you safe, okay? You have someone," I whispered. "You have me. You have a place at Torchwood, and I can find you somewhere to sleep. I'm not going to let you fall through the cracks. I promise."

"But Jack, I don't want to cause any-"

"That's my final decision. Now, get up, and pop up your collar, because it's trenchcoat weather."


	5. v

**- Nova Wright -**

"Jack, I don't know about this.." I said quietly, walking a few feet behind him as he continued to walk back to my house. I kept sniffling, and caught him throwing back a glance at me every time I did so.

"I swear on my fucking life, Nova, if you say that one more time, I will throw you in a containment unit in Torchwood and leave you there." Jack muttered, rolling his eyes at me, then went on walking.

When we reached my house, Jack made me scour my apartment for anything that I would ever want from there. I came out with a plastic bag that contained three shirts, a pair of denim shorts, two pairs of skinny jeans that had been ripped one two many times, a toothbrush, a notebook that I'd been writing in since I was seventeen, and a broken necklace my mom had left me.

"We need to get you more things soon," Jack said quietly, taking the bag from me. He took my hand as well, leading me out of the house and onto the sidewalk outside. I shut the door behind us.

* * *

"There's a sink over there," Jack pointed, "where you can wash up and brush your teeth. The bathroom's where I showed you earlier, and you can get changed there if you're more comfortable, but I'll just turn around and you can change in here if you want." He sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing his shirt by the back of its collar and pulling it over his head. Both or our trenchcoats were hanging on a hook at the entrance to Torchwood.

"It's fine, I don't even have better clothes to change into." I answered, scrubbing my teeth with my toothbrush at the sink.

Jack stood up and walked to a dresser, pulling out a pair of plaid boxers and an oversized, blue tee shirt. He stood there, in nothing but a pair of grey sweatpants, holding clothes out to me. His hair was messy and untamed, given how many times he'd dragged his hands through it.

"Wear these over your underclothes," he offered. I finished up brushing my teeth and walked to him, taking the clothes. He turned around as soon as they were out of his hands and I quickly changed from my clothes, into his.

"Thank you," I mumbled, finishing up. He turned around and smiled back at me, then pointed at the bed.

"Sleep," Jack ordered, taking one of two blankets off the bed. I nodded and crawled under their other blanket, curling my body as I watched him.

"I will be right out there," he pointed, "on the couch, okay? Right there. If you need something, you can come and find me. You can sleep as long as you want."

"Wait," I said, voice cracking a bit. "This is your bed?" He nodded and I added, "then you sleep here, and I'll take the couch."

"Shut up and sleep."

"But I-"

"Goodnight!" He called back as he walked away.

"Jack I-"

"Nova! Goodnight!"

**- Jack Harkness -**

I jogged out of the place I usually called a room, the blanket draped over my shoulder. I threw it onto the small couch, and then looked around for Gwen. It took a few minutes, but I found her in the autopsy lab. She was lasering down the center of Jeremy's torso. The parasite had stopped moving after there was no body to feed off of, but it still continued to protrude from the corpse.

"Go home and go back to sleep. You, Ianto, and Nova aren't working tomorrow. She can't start right away, not with her brother having just died in front of her, you need rest, and it's not fair for me to just force Ianto to show up. I deal with this for now, and I'll figure out what it is," I said quietly, looking at her, then at the body.

"You need sleep too, Jack," she mumbled quietly while she peeled the skin of the torso back.

I let out a dry laugh. "I have parasites randomly infecting human beings, a shortened amount of Torchwood workers, and now a girl with no one to care for her. I think sleep is the least of my worries, Gwen. Just go home. I'll end up sleeping in a while, okay?"

She looked at me and sighed in defeat, putting down the tool. "Okay, fine. But get some sleep, ya hear? And also, make sure she gets some sleep, too." Gwen pointed, and I turned around to see Nova leaning against the railing, staring with an expressionless face at the corpse.

I sighed, and have Gwen a half hug before she gathered her things and left. When I saw that Nova wasn't moving, I walked up the few steps and over to her wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Look at me," I whispered, using my other hand to lightly touch her chin in hopes of getting her to turn towards me. When she didn't, I stopped, and moved in for the hug, wrapping both arms around her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me back with a small yawn.

"You should be in bed," I whispered.

"And Jeremy should be alive. What's your point?" She whispered back, turning her head so that her face leaned against my throat. I suppressed a shiver, glancing down at her, although she didn't see.

"My point is that you'll feel better if you stayed in bed, rather than get up from it." I said. Nova didn't respond, nor budge when I began to pull away.

I gave up and picked her up, then carried her bridal style back to the bed she was supposed to be on, and playfully threw her onto it. She made an odd noise of surprise, then laughed softly as she looked up at me.

In that moment and that moment alone, I noticed how beautiful she was, with her golden blonde locks and bright blue eyes. Throwing her had resulted in one leg being tucked under the other, her shirt hiked up to just below her ribs to reveal skin that was lighter in complexion and didn't match the tan of her arms and hands. She looked so tired that she was practically half asleep already, hands resting behind her head.

"Goodnight," I said, turning away.

"Wait!" She exclaimed, and I turned around.

"What is it?"

"Please just.. Please don't go, Jack." She cast her eyes to the side, not looking at me.

"I told Gwen I'd go to sleep, though." I answered, watching her.

"Then.. G-go to sleep in here." Nova stammered awkwardly.

"I would if you'd move over." I shrugged. She stared at me like I'd said something unexpected, which was probably true, but moved over nonetheless. I'd left the other blanket on the couch, so I moved to lay beside her, barely covering myself with the edge of the blanket. She pushed part of it over me, then laid down with her face in the pillow, turned towards me. I glanced at her and noticed the soft blush on her face, then kissed her forehead and reached over to shut off the lamp.

"G'night." Nova said quietly.

"Night," I answered, closing my eyes.


	6. vi

**- Nova Wright -**

I woke up to find that I was sprawled out over the floor. It seemed late-ish in the afternoon, I just had the feeling that it was. Then I realized that Jack was no longer there. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and went to stand up, stepping on something hard and round, and falling.

Only then did I find out it was Jack's shin.

I yelped when I fell, accidentally landing on Jack's stomach and chest. He jumped awake with a grunt, looking up at me.

"There could've been a million and one other ways to wake me up." He mumbled, helping me off him and sitting up. I blushed slightly, shrugging.

"Sorry?" I offered. He just smirked and stood up, offering his hand down to me. I took it and stood as well, looking around.

"I told the others to take the day off. I figured that I needed to get you situated, and you obviously need to go out and get supplies to actually live off of." He said, stretching his back and arms. His muscles rippled slightly as he did so, and only then did I realize how truly strong he must've been.

"O-okay.." I said quietly, nodding and looking down at myself. "But.. I don't think I can really go out in public like this.."

Jack looked me up and down, cracking a small smile. "I wouldn't mind. Kinda cute, actually." I felt my face heat up as I looked down.

"I've only known you for a day and already you're wearing my clothes," he smirked at me, widly. I slapped his shoulder lightly and interrupted him by saying, "well, it's not like I have anything else.."

"Just wear that shirt," he said, walking over to his drawers to pull out a pair of sweatpants. He tossed them to me and I caught them, then watched as he proceeded to strip and change right there in front of me, stripping off his sweats and pulling jeans on instead. He threw on a blue collared shirt, and then pulled his braces on over his shoulders. I watched him, blinking a few times, then noticed him looking back at me. My face flushed red for god knows what amount of times it had been that day, and I turned my face away.

"Turn around." I mumbled.

"Awh, why? I've already seen you in underwear," he smirked at me, but spun around nonetheless. I quickly took of the boxers and began to pull on the sweats, but fell on my ass by accident. Letting out a yelp and wincing, my hand immediately flew back to touch the small of my back where it hurt the most.

Jack was kneeling in front of me in seconds, looking down at me. "Are you alright?" He asked softly, offering me a hand to help me up. I nodded, and, although wincing, stood up and yanked the sweats on, leaning against him for support. He held my shoulders as I did so, helping me keep my balance.

"Thanks.." I said quietly, still leaning my back slightly against his chest even after I was done. He kept his gentle, but firm grip on my shoulders still.

"You're gonna bruise." He said, one hand going down to lightly caress the skin on the small of my back. "You already are."

"Oh well.." I mumbled, wincing again as he kept lightly stroking the forming mark. After a while, it began to feel soothing, rather than painful, and I let him continue for a bit, staying put.

"Well, we should get going then, yeah?" I asked, turning around to look at him. His other hand moved down to the opposite side of my waist, now both hands caressing at my back.

"You're cute." He smiled. I blushed again and lightly hit him in the stomach, narrowing my eyes.

"Shut up," I warned.

"Cute cute cute cute cute cute cute," he chimed, grinning down at me. His eyes flickered down to my lips, and mine to his, and I quickly pushed myself away from him looking around the room.

"Okay, well as 'cute' as I may be, we still do need to get going before it turns into night." I chided him, trying to keep my nervousness hidden. He recovered from his failed move and nodded, passing me as he walked out the door. I followed him, slipping into my shoes on the way out. All the clothes, even including shoes and trenchcoat, were now way too big for me. I grabbed my coat off the rack and slipped it on, noticing it was much bigger than the night before.

Jack stared at me, raising an eyebrow. "My coat, please," he said, holding his hand out expectingly. I frowned and began taking it off, but he sighed and shook his head.

"Never mind, just wear it. Besides, it looks.." He smirked. "Cute on you."

I frowned at him and tugged the coat tighter around my body. He looked at me, his hands curling into large fists at his sides. I heard him swear under his breath and turned around, beginning to walk out the large, round door. I followed, refraining from grabbing the sleeve of his shirt like I used to with Jeremy. Then I remembered the night before, my heart jumping out of my chest when I realized that he was still dead and that there was nothing I could do about it.

He was talking as we walked down the side of the road, saying things that I wasn't paying attention to. Only did I snap out of it when he nudged me, looking down at me.

"What?" I asked, startled as I looked up at him.

"I've been asking you questions for like the last hour. What's on your mind?" He asked, stopping right in the middle of the sidewalk, hand on my shoulder to stop me as well. People walked around us, passing us by and scoffing at us that we needed to move.

"N-nothing.." I said, shaking my head at him.

"You tell me, right this instant." Jack ordered, narrowing his eyes at me.

I paused, hesitant, and then said, "Jack. He's still dead."

His glare softened and he wrapped both arms around me. I stayed put, unresponsive, until he pulled back and gently took my hand in his. "I'm sorry. But c'mon, I'm going to do my best to take your mind off of it." He said. I nodded, and he quickly began to lead me away. I followed him, holding his hand with mine, and tucking my free hand into his coat pocket. It was warm, as was his hand, and I had the small urge to just step in front of him and hug him again. It made me feel warm inside, like his warmth was being transferred into me.

"Trenchcoat weather, remember?" He asked me softly, leaning over to press his lips ever-so-gently to my temple, like he'd done the night before.


	7. vii

**- Jack Harkness -**

She was so sweet and small and beautiful and kind and reckless and heartfelt and caring and careless and brave all at the same time that I felt my heart beat so hard that it would soon fly out of my chest if I didn't find some way to control it. I had to settle with kissing her forehead, knowing that it was the only thing she was okay with right now. If I tried anything else, she might get uncomfortable and leave. But I couldn't take it. It was like going through drug withdraw. I wanted to kiss her, so badly, right on the mouth and never have to pull back for air and I wanted her to kiss me back and I wanted it to go on and on and on but I couldn't, and it made my palms sweaty and it made me twitchy and anxious and I could tell she sensed it, and, and, and-

"Jack, where are you taking me?" Nova breathed quietly, and I felt my stomach do somersaults, just trying my hardest not to pull her to the nearest wall and slam my mouth into hers. I'd known her for a day. Only a day, and already, this little crush or fling that I had going on for her was beginning to kill me. Just her voice, or the small noises that she sometimes made when she was breathing constantly knocked the wind out of me, leaving me unable to speak for a few seconds. I wanted to put duct tape over her mouth and shove her into the back of a car just so I could breathe right for a minute or two.

"Just..to a few stores, okay?" I asked, trying to keep my voice gentle, although I was straining again.

"It's fine you know. I've dealt without shopping before I mean, I can manage without you having to spend money-"

I gritted my teeth. I wanted to give her everything. Every ounce of happiness that I could muster, all the money I had, even life for fuck's sakes. She felt alone. I could see it in her eyes. I knew that look oh too well, and I was killing me that this poor girl was even a little upset.

"No," I interrupted her, "shut up. It's not a big deal. Of all people, you're the person that I'd prefer to spend a shitload of money on. So shut up. Plus, you're a member of Torchwood now. You're our weapons expert. You'll work off this money and gain more in due time, okay? Okay."

She stared down at the sidewalk in front of us and I swept her into a building, titled "Mirage" on the front. I knew it was a woman's clothing store, and looked around. "Go look around, and be careful. I'll be over here, okay?" I said, looking at her and leaning against the wall beside the door frame.

Nova gave my hand a single, small squeeze and let it go, turning to look around. She looked back at me one last time and kissed my cheek, then walked off, my trenchcoat practically dragging on the ground. I chuckled, watching her as she glanced at some of the frillier clothing with a slightly disgusted face and she must've heard me at some point, shooting a disbelieving look at me. I simply shrugged in response and looked down at my phone, checking to see if I'd had any missed calls from Gwen or Ianto. Since Owen and Tosh's death, I always wanted to check up on them constantly and just make sure that they were still doing okay. It was rare that they needed help when we weren't at the hub, but it was always a worry of mine. By the time I looked up, I'd seen that Nova was looking a rack of tee shirts. I watched as she picked out two shirts, both black, that I knew would be too big on her, and a pair of white-washed skinny jeans that might've been just a size too big.

"Shoes, too," I called to her as I watched her walk back towards me. She blushed and turned back, taking another two minutes to pick out a pair of black combat boots. I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to be able to run and shoot in those well enough?" I asked. She nodded quickly, looking at them.

"Alright, bring them up to the register."

She did so, and I came up behind her, paying for them. The woman that rang us up smiled brightly at me and said, "Sorry if I'm intruding or anything, but I just want to say that you two just..kind of astound me, you know? Very cute couple."

Nova clapped a hand over her own face, shaking her head and mumbling, "we're not a couple.."

"Thanks," I said anyway, throwing a smirk at the blonde. The other woman laughed and gave me Nova's bags, my change, and receipt, and then I dragged the small girl to the bathroom at the back of the room.

"Get changed," I said, "you never know when somethi-"

I was cut off by my phone, although Nova had already taking the bag and brought it into the bathroom.

When I answered the phone, I heard it was Ianto

"Sir, there's extraterrestrial activity happening at one of the hospitals. You're with Nova, I presume, so just meet me at the hub."

"She's getting dressed, we'll be out in a second," I answered, then shut my phone. I knocked quickly on the bathroom door, calling to her, "hurry up, something's going on."

Nova was out in seconds, and I didn't bother with the clothes that she changed out of, tossing them in the bag and chucking the bag into the trash. She was still wearing my trenchcoat, and I grabbed her hand, running out the back exit with her.


End file.
